The Conservative nomination in Macleod: no vote count to see here

In what its website describes as a “closely contested nomination race”, last Saturday, Conservatives in the Alberta riding of Macleod chose John Barlow as their candidate in an upcoming byelection.

Just how closely contested it was, however, no one — including Barlow’s opponents — seems to know.

Local media reported that nearly 1,500 ballots were cast over three days of voting in the enormous riding that essentially stretches from the south of Calgary to the U.S. border.

But the results were not announced.

Melissa Mathieson, one of Barlow’s three opponents for the nomination, told iPolitics Barlow was announced the victor after polls closed on Saturday evening — then the ballots were promptly destroyed (which is consistent with the party’s nomination rules).

In the end, she didn’t know if she finished second, third, or fourth; she didn’t even know how many votes she’d gotten.

Mathieson suggested talking to the Macleod electoral district association president, Gary Duchak, who responded quickly to an email.

“Because of the portable ballot required to allow a vote in 3 locations, the count is a complex process and not easily understood. We would have to report on all counts. We decided not to do so. All ballots and the counts were destroyed. There is no record of numbers,” he wrote.

“Mr. Barlow won as determined by the process and verified by the 4 scrutineers in attendance.”

That last point is important; no one is suggesting there was anything suspect about the process itself.

But being close to embattled Alberta Premier Alison Redford and having run against Wildrose leader Danielle Smith in the last Alberta provincial election aren’t doing Barlow any favours at the moment with the Conservatives’ so-called Red Tory wing.

No Conservative Alberta MPs responded to requests for interviews about Barlow’s nomination.

And one Conservative blogger, showing multiple pictures of Barlow and the “hard-core progressive” Redford together, questioned why Barlow was even allowed to run.

“The internal war has started and it’s time to take our party back,” he wrote.

That sounded quite a bit like what Rob Anders — the Conservative MP for Calgary West — had to say in January.

With all that division amongst Alberta Conservatives, it probably would’ve been helpful to know how many of Macleod’s 1,500 Conservative ballots Barlow actually won.